


Smiles in the Dark

by The Chronicler (AgentFrostbite)



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Genre: Attempts at scary stories, Author Has No Idea How To Tag, Author has no experience with babies, Author probably should not have been given the ability to tag, Awesome Big Sisters, But very interesting, Gen, It depends on the reception, It's either a prologue story to something my friend and I are writing or a standalone story, Kid logic is...interesting, Not entirely flawed, Prologue story, Short Story, and so probably didn't write him well, kids are cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-16
Updated: 2020-03-16
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:13:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,820
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23166037
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AgentFrostbite/pseuds/The%20Chronicler
Summary: Sayem Ajani can see them. She knows they're there for her brother. No-one else believe her when she tells them thattheyexist and are there for her brother, so she'll have to find someone who does believe her.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 3





	Smiles in the Dark

**Author's Note:**

> Because why not? I was originally writing this for posting on Friday the 13th, but I didn't think it was scary enough and so I didn't post it. I have another story, coming out tonight or tomorrow (depending on how fast I can edit it) that better fits the frightful Friday (which is late, but shhh). I just really, really wanted to post this one because I wanted to dip my toes in the Star Trek fandom here. 
> 
> If y'all really like this, PhoenixIzzy and I will start getting a move on with the full version of this story, which I _promise _has much more scary than this one. If the reception is only okay, then I'll leave this as a standalone till we get around to that portion of the story. It'll all just depend.__
> 
> __Have a good day and thank you for reading!  
>  (PS, props to everyone who catches the Odo reference)_ _

They'd been there for almost a week, and Sayem Ajani was absolutely convinced that they were there for her brother, Tassan. If it was her they wanted, they had countless opportunities to take her – she was always running off to play in the woods, run around the ruins, or hike up the slower slopes of the mountain that overlooked her orphanage. In fact, despite her father's begging deathbed plea to stay by Tassan all the time and take care of him, all Ajani really wanted to do was explore. She was good enough to honor her promise to take care of him, and she did spend more time with her brother than any of the other kids spent with their younger siblings, but until last week, four hours a day was good enough for the seven year old girl who refused to let the war make her grow up any faster than she wanted to.

The Smilers were stalking them again. She always got this prickling feeling on the back of her neck when they were close by. Tassan, who was usually fussy because he knew something wasn't right, went eerily silent whenever they arrived. Ajani hugged her brother close, curling around him as best she could to shield him from the prying pupil eyes of the Smilers. Their footsteps, muted but never completely silent, stepped to the edge of the bed. Ajani bit her tongue and wished them away with every fiber of her being. Tassan was deathly quiet, and if her chest wasn't tucked against his, allowing her to feet its steady rise and fall, she might've worried that the Smiler's proximity had finally killed him.

The Smiler stood and watched them for another minute, and then retreated into the darkness. As soon as Tassan began fussing again, Ajani let herself breathe.

* * *

"They won't do anything about it!" she shouted to Tassan. It had become common for her to 'kidnap' her brother from the wing of the orphanage where they kept the children until they were toddlers and able to talk and walk around. It really wasn't hard for her to get in or get him out, but she assumed that was because she was small. No Cardassian would send their kids to Bajor to do anything to the orphans. They were monsters, but they loved their kids, too.

"What are we gonna do, Tassan?" she asked, laying her arms on the edge of the makeshift crib she built to house him in her room. She was lucky enough to be the odd number and have a room all to herself. He wriggled and turned, then pawed at her nose ridges with a joyful, delighted laugh. She smiled. Yes, she missed the woods and the mountains and the great broken houses, but she loved her brother more than anything else. Papa knew what he was doing after all. "The caregivers think it's just a nightmare, or me making up stories for attention. They can't see them like we can. They won't believe us."

Where could they go? Ajani wracked her brain, thinking and thinking until the caregivers came to scold her again for 'kidnapping' her brother. She pitched a fit, but let them take him. She could just break in again after a couple hours. The orphanage was always understaffed, after all. They couldn't watch both of them all the time. She held off going to Tassan until she came up with an answer, and when she did, oh…

It was her best idea yet.

* * *

The Smilers had pursued them endlessly since they left the orphanage. She heard rumors that someone of the freighter was killed, and no-one knew by what. She held Tassan close to her, singing quiet Bajoran lullabies until they arrived.

Ajani had never been in space before. It was huge, endlessly stretching off into the distance, dotted with stars everywhere. She only got to look out the window for a few minutes before the other passengers nudged her away from it. She didn't understand why, but let herself be guided. The less attention she drew to herself and Tassan, the better it would be. The wonder of the stars was quickly overshadowed by the knowledge that one of the Smilers was onboard. It had to be. Who else could have killed someone without leaving a trace?

When the freighter docked at the station, the passengers were informed that they would have to go through a security checkpoint. Ajani had to come up with a new idea, and fast. If the station workers knew that she and Tassan were runaway orphans, they'd be sent back to the orphanage without ever getting to talk to someone from Starfleet. As the people onboard were herded to the exit, she spotted the cargo bay door. It was open.

She darted between people, trying to calm Tassan, and looked around for a box big enough for the both of them. Her days playing hide and seek with the other children at the orphanage were about to pay off in a big way. She tore a strip off her skirt, picked a box that she and Tassan could comfortably fit into, and closed the lid, placing the strip between the lock and the lid. That way, it would appear to be secured, but she and Tassan could get out when the workers set the box in whatever cargo bay was onboard the station.

It was a couple minutes before someone came to pick up the box. She could hear muffled voices as they unknowingly transported her and Tassan to the station. She heard the men speaking with someone else who had a rough voice. She pressed her ear to the side to try and hear what they were saying, but had no luck. It hardly mattered. The box passed the checkpoint, and she and Tassan were officially onboard the station.

By the time the men set the box down and walked away, Ajani remembered why she'd stopped using boxes in hide and seek. Aside from the fact that few of the kids were brave enough to go into the ruins, which made them the perfect place to hide, staying in boxes too long made her feel like she couldn't breathe. It was hot and stuffy, and Tassan was getting more and more upset, though he'd stopped whimpering a few minutes ago. She popped the top off the box and took in a breath of cool, fresh air. Her eyes went wide as she looked around the room they'd put the box in. There were other boxes, crates, and barrels, of many different designs and functions, that were stacked around the room. It looked like some kind of grand maze being built, and she was glad she could see the door.

She picked up Tassan and put the lid back on, leaving the torn piece of her skirt in the box. There wasn't much she could do with it at this point, anyway. She walked to the door and found a little corner to tuck themselves away in, waiting until the workers came back. She was, after all, a very clever player of hide and seek. They eventually returned, carrying another box that looked just like hers, and she darted out into the hallway.

It was long and had strange lighting. She had to find a lift she could use to get to the bridge. Every important place had a bridge, and every bridge had a lift. She read something like that on a computer, once. After all, how else were people supposed to get to a bridge without a lift? Dignified people didn't climb ladders, they stood with their hands behind their backs and no expression on their face as they talked to each other about important adult stuff. She picked a direction and walked and walked, first following her instinct and then following the sound of crowds.

The hallway eventually let out into a large space that looked like a rotunda, except there was a large metal thing that cut off anyone wanting to run across the middle. There were so many people, all going in different directions, and she figured she was really lucky to find the lift. She stood in it, readjusted her grip on Tassan, and ignored a strange look from someone passing by. "Computer," she said in as authoritative a voice as she could. It chirped its compliance, and she tried not to smile. "Take this lift to the bridge."

"There is no bridge onboard this station," it dutifully informed. She frowned and Tassan played with her nose ridges again.

"There has to be a command center, right?" she asked, looking at the ceiling as if that was where the voice was coming from.

"Affirmative," it answered.

"Then take me there." The lift began to move, and she gasped slightly as the rotunda area disappeared. Tassan cooed. "We're gonna be okay now, Tassan," she assured him. After all, she'd heard that Starfleet was 'too fair,' and if they were too fair, then a kid like her with such a legitimate problem shouldn't be turned away. The lift stopped at a new place and she couldn't help but stare.

There were computers everywhere, and lots of people working at them. No-one looked at the lift, so she stepped off slowly and just looked around. The floor dipped to a lower area with a large computer table. To her left, there was a large set of bronze-looking doors with a strange fan pattern. On a wall just above the computer table there was a large oval that had no purpose. Maybe it was a decoration? There also weren't any windows.

"Hey." She started as she turned to see who had spoken to her. The entire room went quiet as everyone looked between her and the man with curls. "What are you doing in Ops?"

She squared her shoulders and readjusted her grip on Tassan again. That made her look older and more important, she was sure. "My name is Sayem Ajani," she said as adult-like as possible. "This is my brother, Tassan. We are here to request asylum from Starfleet."

There. That ought to do it.

Everyone in 'Ops' started looking at each other, and then to a different man who emerged from the bronze doors. He looked at them, then to the Bajoran in charge. "They're here to request asylum," she answered. The man – Starfleet, and probably the man in charge – walked over and knelt down to them.

"My name is Benjamin Sisko. I'm the Captain on this station. What's your name?" he asked.

"I'm Sayem Ajani, and this is Tassan, my brother," she answered. "We're here from the orphanage, for protection against the Smilers."

"Why do you come to my office, and we can talk about these Smilers?" he replied. Ajani nodded and followed him in. She was very glad that her plan had worked.


End file.
